Blown-in Insulation Removal

HVAC System Removal

Fiberglass Awareness

Page 3

An attic floor with the HVAC system being removed, boards removed and flex ducts and wires all over.

In order to remove the blown in fiberglass from under the floor we needed to remove the third floor HVAC system. This section seemed to be one of the problem areas that was causing the gray loose fiberglass to fall down to the lower levels of the home as it followed the ductwork and wires. We plan on replacing it with a ductless split system.

Boards removed from an attic floor showing the loose blown in fiberglass with a flex duct poking out and wires off to the right side.

This is part of the area where the HVAC system was sitting. It still baffles my mind that anyone would think it was a good idea to blow spun glass into a home where humans live. And on top of that, run wires and ducts through it down the walls to the lower levels of the home for an indefinite amount of time, as if materials do not have a shelf life.

Flex ducts poking out from the wall in an attic with some boards removed with two silver ducts also sticking out of the floor.

Ducts running through the floor past the blown in insulation. The areas were the duct passes from one floor to the next are not sealed tightly. No one was trying to keep the tiny shards of glass from leaving the attic area.

Flex ducts poking out from the wall in an attic with some boards removed with a silver duct also sticking out of the floor.

When I would walk into my house with this blown in insulation, it immediately went to my lungs which reacted by tightening, heart racing, eyes burning and I would have to concentrate to keep from tossing my cookies. Others in the house did not feel the immediate effects. Had it not been for me bringing it to everyone's attention we would all still be living among the airborne poison not understanding why we get headaches, nightly leg cramps, upset stomachs, restless leg, reflux and various other symptoms.

A person with a glove on holding two large black flex ducts with pink insulation sticking out the ends up in the air.

Flex ducts lined with fiberglass being removed from the home.

Some boards removed from an attic floor exposing gray blown-in loose insulation along with duct work, both flex and hard and white wires.

There clearly is not a lot of thought put into keeping indoor air clean. Contractors place air returns close to things like exposed fiberglass and in random places behind walls that can't possibly be pulling in fresh clean air. In our day and age one would think that we humans would put more thought into the air we are breathing inside of our own homes.

Looking down into an attic floor that had a floor board removed exposing a very dirty area of blown in fiberglass and a hard silver duct.

While the house is old, the HVAC system was not. The practice of installing these systems with little to no thought put into the indoor air is still going on today. The blown in glass is just pushed aside as they run air ducts that will blow into the rest of the home, not sealing the cracks between the fiberglass and the hole in the floor.

Looking into the cavity of an attic floor that was under a HVAC system. The area is tan and dirty.

The attic floor cavity

A hole in a dirty attic floor showing old white flooring where the HVAC unit was resting.

Gray dust and wood chips all around a white air return vent.

A return air vent. What a great place to pull air from to blow into the rest of the home. No worries it does pass through a filter, is what we are told.

Gray dust all over a white air return vent and on the surrounding wood under an attic floor.

A return air vent that pulls air which will be blown into the second floor rooms of the home.

A large black flex duct with dirty orange fiberglass poking out the end laying disconnected from the wooden floor with parts of the HVAC system behind it.

Fiberglass lined flex ducts that were connected to the HVAC system.

An attic floor with white wires running into the wall and gray blown in fiberglass sprinkled about with two floor boards removed.

Wires running down into the floor, passing through the blown in spun glass to the lower levels of the home.

A large black flex duct with pink fiberglass exposed poking out from the gray blown-in insulation where the floor boards were removed in an attic.

A flex duct wrapped in fiberglass running through loose spun glass along the floor cavity. At some point this duct turns and runs down to the lower level of the home.

Close up - Four large black flex ducts with orange insulation hanging out of them poking out from inside of a wall up in an attic with gray blown in fiberglass sprinkled about on the floor where the boards were removed.

Flex ducts with fiberglass hanging out that were connected to the HVAC system running down the walls of the home.

Four large black flex ducts with orange insulation hanging out of them poking out from inside of a wall up in an attic with gray blown in fiberglass sprinkled about on the floor where the boards were removed with a fifth duct that has pink insulation poking out of the floor among the gray blown in glass. There are white wires coming out next to the ducts and from a hole in the wall.

The house always had a small amount of glass floating around, but I did not notice until after we had the water leak on the third floor that got the loose, gray fiberglass wet. There are only so many toxins a body can handle at one time and when fiberglass gets wet it out gases and shatters at an accelerated rate.

A square area on the floor where boards were removed with gray blown-in insulation exposed with a black flex duct with pink fiberglass around it poking out.

A flext duct poking out from the blown in loose fiberglass.

Flex ducts and white wires poking out of the wall of an attic. There is orange fiberglass hanging from the ducts.

When the job of removing the HVAC system was complete I noticed all of the workers standing around the outside of their truck coughing. All of them were hacking away and while they did wear gloves, none of them wore masks. They all knew there was blown in insulation and insulation exposed around the flex ducts because it was visible. This is an example of a total lack of precaution due to the lack of warnings the manufactures put out. After all, how could airborne tiny glass particles be bad for a person's health?